Steel Markets
Advanced High Strength—Wood?
Written by Sandy Williams
August 16, 2017
The “woodie” automobile, popular in the 1940s and ’50s, may be on its way back, but in a seriously different mode.
Japanese researchers are developing the latest challenge to automotive steel, a super-strength, lightweight product that uses wood as a raw material. Cellulose nanofiber, made from wood pulp, is mixed into plastics forming a product that is one-fifth the weight of steel and five times as strong, according to researchers at Kyoto University.
Cellulose nanofibers are used in other products, but their potential use for autos is enabled by the “Kyoto process” that kneads treated woods fibers into plastics and simultaneously breaks them down into nanofiber. The process cuts production cost by one-fifth of other processes.
Researchers at Kyoto are tailoring application of the product for use in auto and aircraft parts and hope to have a prototype car using nanofiber parts completed in 2020, said Kyoto professor Hiroaki Yano. The product would be especially desirable for lightweighting electric cars to minimize how many batteries are required for power.
“We’ve been using plastics as a replacement for steel, and we’re hoping that cellulose nanofibers will widen the possibilities toward that goal,” Yukihiko Ishino, a spokesman at Daikyo-Nishikawa told the Japan Times. Daikylo-Nishikawa customers include Toyota Motor Corp. and Mazda Motor Corp.
Mass production of one kilogram of cellulose nanofiber is about 1000 yen or $9. Yano hopes to reduce the cost by half and, when combined with plastic, make it competitive against high tensile steel and aluminum alloys.
The product is far from achieving commercial viability. Besides trimming production costs, methods of attaching the parts made from the new material need to be explored. The product is unlikely to threaten the steel or aluminum industry for years to come, but is yet another example of innovative approaches to creating strong and lightweight materials for the automotive industry.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Week in Review: Sept. 29 -Oct. 3
Let’s take a quick tour of some key stories from SMU in the week of Sept. 29 - Oct. 3.
Hot-rolled coil sources lament stagnant conditions
Participants in the hot-rolled sheet market expressed frustration with the continuing lack of demand this week.
Plate market sources critique mill hikes amid current market conditions
Following spot market plate price increase notices issued by domestic mills this past week, participants are contemplating the rationale behind the increases and whether they will stick. Some sources anticipate that current market conditions will shift in November and believe the increases may set a new "pricing floor."
ITC’s final ruling: Dumped, subsidized CORE imports are harming domestic market
The US International Trade Commission (ITC) finds that corrosion resistant steel (CORE) imports from 10 countries have caused material damage to domestic product producers, according to the ITC’s statement.
HR buyers report mixed market conditions
Hot-rolled coil market participants said they’re staying on their toes amid a market that continues to be characterized by uncertainty. A veteran Midwest-based service center operator contends that current conditions are unprecedentedly volatile. Being flexible with customers and strategic with mills is the only way to navigate through the uncertainty, he said. “No one wants […]